Caring for your child
We are a clinic specialising in the management of infants and children with feeding difficulties and tongue-ties
We have unique rooms and facilities to perform surgery and provide lactation and feeding support.
Everyone has a thin piece of skin joining the tongue to the floor of the mouth. called a “frenum“. Tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, is where the tongue is tethered to the floor of the mouth or gum with of a short or restrictive lingual frenum. This is considered to be a variation of normal tissue and not pathological..
Lingual FRENOTOMY, is a procedure indicated in young infants where a significant tongue-tie is affecting breast or bottle feeding. A lactation consultant or speech pathologist usually assesses attachment and feeding practices in order to determine the need for a frenotomy. It is normally performed on babies from birth up to 6 months of age. A frenectomy involves complete excision of the frenum under the tongue and is usually performed after 18 months of age for speech or other dental reasons.
Lingual frenotomy is simple and quick with few complications. The frenum is usually a very fine translucent tissue and is easily cut reliving the tie.
Breast-feeding problems associated with tongue-tie may include:
Bottle-feeding problems associated with tongue-tie may include:
There is currently NO evidence that a thick or short labial frenum has any negative influence on breast-feeding. The mere presence of a labial frenum does NOT indicate a need for surgery.
Releasing a upper labial frenum is a traumatic procedure that may also lead to more dental problems later including the persistance of an anterior diastema (gap between the front teeth) that is difficult to close orthodontically.
We offer a range of services supporting infants with feeding issues and young children with tongue ties.
The practice also has a full-time clinical psychologist who specialises in parent infant attachment.
A FRENOTOMY invovles a simple cut of the lingual frenum with scissors without the need for local anaesthesia. Please note that we do NOT use lasers or othe invasive methods.
A lingual FRENECTOMY is usually performed on older children (greater than 18 months of age) under general anaesthesia.
All our team are specialists in infant and child health.
Angus was the first specialist in paediatric dentistry to graduate from Sydney University and is Head of Paediatric Dentistry at Westmead Hospital and the Unviersity of Sydney. He also holds teaching appointments at the University of Newcastle and Charles Sturt University and lectures nationally and internationally. He has been involved with the development of the Tongue Tie Clinic at Westmead for almost 30 years.
We welcome any enquiry regarding our services and how we can help your child.
Please contact us by phone, fax or email.